maya – Jul 23, 2007 12:00 AM

Maya has been showing more anxiety about going into the pack holding area lately. One characteristic about wolves is their hesitance to go into confined spaces, and have any objects over their head. The holding pen gates are on a pulley system, and are pulled upright to allow the wolves to enter. She’s always been wary, but recently she’s shown much more whining and anxiety before entering the gate. There was no noticeable incident that wolf care staff can recall, but even the slightest negative event can trigger a negative association with an object, location or situation. To get Maya into holding last week, one of the staff member’s dogs was brought to the outer edge of the fence to entice Maya. Maya is very social and shows strong interest in meeting other canids. We anticipate that she will be a great maternal influence on the wolf pups joining the pack in 2008.